


Not Mere Coincidence

by ScientistSalarian



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 09:09:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17241485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScientistSalarian/pseuds/ScientistSalarian
Summary: This is a gift for the MEWC Secret Santa Exchange. Some banter, fluff and smut for Evfra and Ryder.





	Not Mere Coincidence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Naeviss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naeviss/gifts).



The evening air on Aya was unseasonably warm for this time of year and a pleasant breeze floated through the trees and across Sara Ryder’s face. She closed her eyes and let out a soft breath of air. The forest was quiet, save for a few dulcet tones of the wildlife that roamed about. It was a stark contrast to the town square that was constantly abuzz with merchants, resistance fighters, everyday citizens, and now, a few curious travelers from the Nexus. Sara’s steps were slow and meandering as she explored the lush greenery. She had never wandered this far in and she wondered if perhaps she should turn back before getting hopelessly lost.

She choose to continue her haphazard journey until she heard the sound of voices. She ceased any motion and slowed her breathing as she tried to focus in on who was speaking and how many people there were. There was nothing in the forest but densely packed trees and with the waning light of Aya’s closest star, she was surprised to hear that anyone else besides herself had even ventured this deep. From what she could hear, it sounded as though there was only one voice, male, possibly angaran but she wasn’t entirely sure. Suddenly she began to smell the unmistakable scent of a wood-fire burning. Sara began to follow the smell of smoke until she happened upon a small clearing. A log was laid on its side and seating at its center was a large male angara but from Sara’s vantage point, she couldn’t quite tell who it was.

The figure swiftly stood as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and Sara found herself face to face with the barrel of the man’s gun. “Holy shit!” She stepped back as his movements seemed to occur within an instant giving her no moment to properly react to the situation.

“Pathfinder.” The voice was cold but it belongs to a familiar figure. Evfra set down his weapon but the disapproving look hadn’t left his gaze. “Are you following me again?”

“No! Are you burning down the forest for a reason?” She regretted the words simultaneously as they left her lips. Confrontation always had a way of bringing out her sarcastic side.

“Humans don’t make camp fires? Pathetic.” He shook his head but realized his body was still obstructing her view of the fire itself and understood why from the sheer amount of smoke why she’d think he’d gone mad and torched everything. He stepped aside so she could see the small tent and fire pit that he’d built not far from it.

“We do. They just don’t usually smell quite so strongly.” She smiled and played with her hair nervously, trying desperately to diffuse the tension. 

“So what are you doing here?” He was genuinely curious but his tone had yet to soften. “This isn’t a place most angara usually even visit but you seem to have a habit of finding me no matter where I go.” He seemed more bemused by it than outright irritated though.

Sara sighed and glanced around at the sparse camp site. “Honestly Evfra, I don’t know. I just went for a walk and kept on walking. I do that sometimes. Clear my head I guess. I don’t really know what to do with myself these days now that things have calmed down.” She didn’t know why she was opening up to him or if he would even care that she was doing so but once she started speaking, she found herself unable to stop. “I mean...I have my ship and I go places and show my face. People go ‘ohhhh look, it’s the Pathfinder’, and then I talk...a lot...and then I just go home, which is still a ship. A ship that I share with a whole bunch of other people. I dunno, I just felt like I needed some peace and quiet for once so I just sort walked until I found it.”

“So you wanted peace and quiet and then proceeded to talk at me. Negates the peace and quiet doesn’t it?” He cracked just the barest hint of a smile and Sara took a deep breath, hoping it would still her frenetic energy.

“Sorry.” She grinned at the absurdity of it all and looked up at him “What are you doing out here?” 

“Cursing at the wind for making it difficult for me to get that going,” he said pointing to the fire. 

“Well I think that did the trick.” The fire was glowing and the flames nipped at the darkening sky with crackling glee. “Is...anyone else here with you?” Suddenly Sara was aware that she might be intruding on a private matter and wished she’d just minded her own business.

Evfra shook his head. “I come here sometimes.” He didn’t elaborate but he began to walk back towards the log where he was previously seated but motioned for Sara to join him. “I know you’re going to keep talking to me so we may as well do it over here.” 

Sara’s face glowed a faint shade of pink. She was surprised at Evfra’s invitation as her company was rarely something he seemed to go out of his way to find. She followed after him and sat down next to him, leaving a bit of space between herself and the angara. “Sorry, I really didn’t mean to intrude or anything.” She looked down at her feet and then straight ahead at the fire. She noticed the flames appeared to have a green tint to them and she smiled. “This might be a stupid question but are fires always...green here?”

Evfra grabbed a few dry twigs and tossed them into the fire “No. Not always. There’s a type of wood here that does though.” He pointed to a few trees with larger flatter leaves than the rest. “They burn green and have a distinct smell. The first time I fought the kett…” Evfra’s voice trailed off and he appeared to be lost in thought. Sara turned towards him but didn’t say a word. As often as Evfra spoke about the importance of fighting the kett, he rarely spoke about individual battles. “The first time we fought them we were weak. Unprepared. We didn’t know...what they were.” He tossed another twig into the fire with a vicious throw. “We lost many good fighters that day. Good people. We found some downed trees as we made our escape and set fire to them in an attempt to block the kett from doing anymore damage to us. It smelled just like this….” his voice trailed off and Sara clenched her hands, fighting back the urge to reach out and touch him.

“I...am so sorry.” Those were the only words she could muster. She looked at him with a pained expression. Every fiber of her being wanted desperately to comfort him but in the moment she wasn’t sure how. 

“I come here to honor them. The people we lost.” Evfra folded his arms but never took his eyes off of the fire.

Sara’s face glowed but this time it was out of embarrassment. She had no idea she walking into something so sacred, so personal. “I can leave. If you want me to. I really didn’t mean to intrude.” She stumbled over every word as a sense of bashfulness overtook her. 

Evfra didn’t respond immediately. He didn’t even move. He simply stared straight ahead as he had the entire time they’d been seated together. He picked up one more small stick but this time he handed it to Sara. “For the ones you lost too.” He said the words quietly as he handed it to her. Sara’s eyes met his and she carefully accepted his offering.

“For the ones I lost too.” She echoed his words with a solemness that he’d not heard from her before. She stood up and walked towards the fire gently allowing the sprig to drop from her hand. She returned to her place beside Evfra, this time daring to sit a bit closer to him.

“I will say this once, Pathfinder and I won’t repeat it.” He faced her now and his eyes locked with hers. “You did right by my people. And you’re a good fighter. So. Thank you.” His sentences were short and halting as he seemingly pushed the words out against their will. 

“Thank you, Evfra. That means a lot to me.” She was positively beaming and she tried in vain to fight the grin that plastered to her face. “I’m just glad you don’t hate me anyone.” 

“Who says I don’t,” he scoffed. The barest hint of amusement shown on his face and Sara hoped she read his expression correctly.

“You barely thanked Jaal today when he brought everyone breakfast! And you’re friends! Sort of? I mean...you’re a tough guy to read. Has anyone ever told you that?” Sara was beginning to babble again.

“Jaal brought us breakfast that was cold because he got distracted talking to one of your ridiculous crew-mates about angaran hangover cures for half an hour.” 

“That’s Peebee and trust me...you’d take cold breakfast over dealing with her hungover.” Sara couldn’t help but laugh though.

“And no. You’re the first person to mention my...disposition.” 

“Really?” Sara looked at him in complete shock.

“No. Has anyone ever told you how gullible you are?” Evfra rolled his eyes.

Sara’s expression turned from amusement to abject pouting. “I’m not gullible.” She made a show of turning away from him as though stricken with the greatest of offense.

“The kett could have offered to surrender and you would have believed them. If they knew what I know about you we’d all be turned. There wouldn’t a single person left to tell the tale.” 

“Bullshit,” Sara cried out. “What else do you think you know about me anyway?” 

“I know that you’re enjoying this more than you’re letting on,” he shot back. 

Sara’s face was now an undeniable shade of crimson. He was correct of course but she wasn’t nearly ready to concede that point. Before she could come up with a witty retort he spoke once again. “I’m tough on you.”

“Hadn’t noticed,” she answered immediately and with a sharp edge of sarcasm. “Besides, you’re tough on everyone. It’s not like I hear people in the town square lauding Evfra de Tershaav, lord of sunshine and happiness!”

“I’m tough because I need to be. And I’m tough on you because you can handle it. Most people back down from me but you don’t.” 

“I did not travel to an entirely new galaxy just to be bested by some harsh words.” Her sly smile and piercing eyes were proof of just how much she meant those words. 

Evfra didn’t come back with a pithy rejoinder though. He simply looked at her. “You gave up everything you knew to come here. Everyone. Why?” It had always been a source of curiosity for him. He couldn’t imagine anything that would make him pick up and leave his home, never to return.

Sara shuffled to a more comfortable position and settled in. “You wanna know the truth?” He nodded and she continued. “I think I may have been the single most average person in the entire Milky Way. I was never the best or the worst in class. I was never the ugliest but I was never the prettiest either. I never found anything to be super passionate about but I wasn’t totally detached either. I was exactly in the middle of the pack for the everything and felt entirely neutral about it. It’s weird but somehow in being completely noncommittal, I felt nothing but loneliness. There was nothing to make people dislike me but there was nothing to make them like me either. I was utterly unmemorable. Then we came here, and everything that happened with Dad, and with Scott, and the Nexus. Suddenly people depended on me and you know what? It felt good to be that person. And you know what? I was good at it! And I was passionate about it. And people needed me and I liked that. And I wasn’t invisible anymore and I really liked that. And I hate the circumstances surrounding everything since the moment I woke up on that ark but damn does it feel good to have a purpose. Is that selfish?” 

“I’m proud of the resistance team that I put together but it came at the cost of angaran blood. Is that selfish?” Evfra asked the question with a sense of conviction.

“I suppose not…” 

“Then neither are you.” 

Sara was surprised to be sharing such a candid moment with him. His words of comfort seemed to envelop her and give her a sense of calm. “Thank you, Evfra.” She instinctively reached out and placed her hand over his before realizing what she’d done. To her amazement, he didn’t immediately shirk from her touch.

Neither one of them said a word but Evfra slowly wound his fingers between hers. She moved in closer until her arm brushed against his side. She was acutely aware of just how different they were. His deep blue skin contrasted against her pale complexion, both just barely visible by the light of the fire. His stature was tall and broad and hers short and slender. She could feel her heart restlessly beating against her chest and she desperately willed it to slow. She had always found him attractive but she never ever thought anything would ever come of it. Nothing is going to come of it! Those words echoed through her brain as she tried to calm herself down. It was simply a moment between two beings who had finally found some common ground. Nothing more. That’s what she kept trying to tell herself at least.

“I am...an outlier.” Evfra’s words seemed to mingle with the crackling fire as though the embers sprang forth from the sound of his voice. “Angara are passionate, loud people. I am reserved, private, and aloof. I don’t try to pretend that I’m not.”

“That’s for sure,” Sara quipped.

Evfra raised her clasped hand and pulled her in closer. “People like you are maddening,” he growled. “But people like you also bring...levity, to my…”

“Cantankerousness?” She offered the word playfully and with a haughty look of self-satisfaction.

“I was going to go with ‘solemnity’.” He leaned in towards her. “I am expected to openly wail about the loss of my people. I am expected to make grand gestures of passion and pride towards the people who survived. I don’t do that. I come here alone, and in private with my thoughts and that is that. That is how I deal with how I feel about things but that’s not what angaran society expects of me.” 

“I guess there’s more than a few ways to be an outcast…” she took a deep breath and for once, decided to choose her words carefully. “I really am sorry I busted in on you like that. But I’m also glad I did. I admire what you’ve done for your people. And for mine. But also, I’m glad I finally just got to spend some time...getting to know you I guess.”

“You’re going soft on me now, Sara Ryder,” it was a warning followed by a mirthful look. “Is that all it takes? I’m surprised you didn’t fall for Jaal then with all his poetic words and gifts and--

Sara threw her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her, bringing him in for a kiss. He lips felt soft against him and he pressed her body hard against his. One arm was snaked tightly around her waist and the other cradled the back of her neck firmly. “If I wanted Jaal, I would be with Jaal,” she hissed. “I care about him, but I want you. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a curmudgeon.” 

Evfra stood up gripping her by the waist. He held her up with one arm and she made a fake show of struggling from his grasp. He tossed her over his shoulder and hauled her over the the tent. He laid her down on the ground once they were inside and he straddled her, his face mere inches from hers. “All those times you’ve ‘accidentally’ run into me every time you’re on this planet. Not mere coincidence then?”

“Alright, alright! With the exception of this one time, you’re right. I’ve maybe made it my mission to accidentally-on-purpose run into you.” She was enjoying the site of him looming over her. His presence was intimidating but also somehow made her feel protected. 

“And your plan was to annoy me with your incessant jokes until what? I finally figured out that’s a human’s pitiful attempt at flirting?” 

“Isn’t that what we do? We endlessly needle each other until we both get so frustrated that we finally do something about it?” She bit her lip and grasped his rofjinn roughly. “I mean, it’s working better than usual isn’t it? Neither of us has stormed off in a huff...yet...”

Evfra leaned into her pressing her against the ground. “That’s not going to happen tonight,” he said authoritatively. He pinned her down and kissed her again. Sara melted against him as she wrapped her arms around him even tighter. More than the feeling of his lips against hers, it was the feeling of his weight against her that filled her with warmth. Despite his gruff demeanor and their constant bickering, she felt absolutely at home in his embrace and relaxed against his touch. His hand slid from the back of her neck to her cheek. He was surprisingly tender in the way he caressed her face and she looked up at him with wanting eyes. Evfra’s lips journeyed from her lips, across her jawline and down her neck. She let out a small sigh as he brushed the strap of her black tank top off of her shoulder and began to nibble the sensitive skin at the base of her neck and over to her collarbone. 

Sara wrapped her legs around his waist pulling his hips against hers. Evfra made a sound that resonated from deep in his chest. He roughly sat her up and nearly tore her shirt as he tugged it up over her head and tossed it to the side. Sara used the same ferocity in dealing with Evfra’s clothes. She laid her hands against his bare chest and traced her fingers over the textured blue skin. She let her fingers wander around his back and then slowly raked her nails downwards, just hard enough to make him groan with approval but not hard enough to leave a mark. 

Soon Evfra’s hands were busying themselves with the clasp of her bra. After fumbling for a bit, he finally freed her from the garment and he slowly brought his hands up towards her breasts. Sara guided his hands, showing him exactly how she needed to be touched. Evfra allowed her to direct his actions and found himself enjoying for once, not being in constant control. He found himself enjoying the feeling of her soft supple skin in his hands. Once Sara trusted him to continue as she instructed she began to undo his pants. She could hardly concentrate on the task at hand however as his strong hands toyed with her breasts, pinching and squeezing, using just the right amount of pressure. 

“Fuck…” Sara finally whispered under her breath as she could barely take any more. She needed him inside her. She finally managed to free his erection of his pants and undergarments and she swiftly did away with the rest of her own clothes.

As soon as she was completely bare before him, he laid her back down on the ground and grabbed her by the ankles. He pulled her towards him and gripped her thighs, spreading her legs apart, revealing her to him. He buried his face between her legs and began experimenting with his tongue. Suddenly she let out a sharp gasp and he slowly repeated the motion that elicited such a response. She bucked her hips against him and he continued lavishing attention between her legs. His tongue circled her clit and he sucked on it, causing her to cry out. He tightened his grip on her thighs as she cursed under her breath once more.

“Fuck you’re good,” she said through clenched teeth.

“You had doubts?” He looked up, daring her to give him a smart retort.

“I assume you’ve never been with a human before. I just didn’t know-- 

“You’re pretty easy to figure out,” he interjected as he slid a finger inside her while returning his lips to her swollen clit. Within moments, she was calling out his name as he coaxed release from her. Her whole body thrummed with pleasure until he ceased his motions. “Like I said, I could figure you out in my sleep.”

“You arrogant bastard.” She shoved him off of her and climbed on top of him, straddling him. 

“Is it arrogance if I’m right?” He was enjoying teasing her, especially now that he knew just how much her body responded to his touch. 

Sara desperately wracked her brain for something to come back with but in her contented haze she couldn’t think of a single thing to respond with. “Damn you,” she finally said weakly. She was ready to give in to him entirely and she didn’t care if she finally lost the battle of words. 

The devious look on Evfra’s face was a welcome change from his usual scowl. Sara was glad that he could at least allow her to see how much he was enjoying himself. She positioned herself over his cock and slowly lowered herself onto him. Evfra’s breath caught in his throat as he felt himself fill her. She was warm and slick and he gripped her ass firmly. Now it was his turn to guide her. He thrust in and out of her, taking her to the hilt. 

She grasped the divots on his shoulders for purchase and quickened the pace. “Looks like angara aren’t too tough to figure out either,” she said as a rasping growl escaped him. He reached up to return one hand to the base of her neck.

Now it was Evfra who was without a droll reply. He simply allowed their rhythm to bring her to orgasm once more. As soon as she screamed his name he felt himself getting close. He tightened his grip on her and the corners of her lips upturned. They both rode out the waves of their pleasure until Sara collapsed on top of him. He could still feel a pulsing even after he was spent and she struggled to catch her breath as her body recovered. 

“Damn you’re good,” she admitted breathlessly. 

“So are you.” He was more than happy to give her credit where it was due. He wrapped his arms around her holding her close. 

Sara kissed him sweetly and Evfra obliged her freely. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this comfortable with another person. He thought back to their very first interaction when he’d dismissed her as nothing more than an invader. He kissed her with a sense of urgency and then broke contact to speak. “I hated you at first.”

“I know,” she grinned remembering just how tense their first meeting was.

“I don’t hate you now,” he stated in an almost provocative tone.

“Well I should hope not!” She acted aghast at the notion and planted a kiss against his neck. She settled in against his body and Evfra grabbed a blanket and wrapped them both up in it. Sara nestled against the crook of his neck and he gently stroked her hair. “You owe me a proper date by the way,” she mumbled sleepily.

“We sat by a campfire and watched the sunset. That’s as much romance as you’re getting out of me for a while,” he said punctuating the notion with a kiss to the top of her head.

“Yeah but you didn’t even plan that! You can’t take credit for me getting lost an accidentally having a romantic night with you.” 

“I think I can take credit for whatever I want,” he said as his hand snaked down her body and between her legs. She moaned at just the slightest brush of his fingers against her and she sighed.

“Damn you Evfra.” She allowed him to tease her and encouraged him with a plaintive cry as he dragged his fingertips over her opening. He massaged and rubbed her clit until she came for him. His deft hands finished her off and found their way back around her waist. “You…” she began.

“I, what?” he said with as much feigned innocence as he could muster.

“You don’t play fair,” she whined. 

“Do you want me to?” 

“Not a chance in hell,” she replied before losing herself in his lips once more.


End file.
